The WSH Black Love Movies of the New Millennium Tournament
Love Jones debuted in theaters on March 14, 1997, in the midst of what I’d argue is a peak in Black cinema. Although this renaissance arguably begins as far back as the late-1980s, the Black romance films of the mid-1990s introduce this extremely wild concept of young, successful, upwardly-mobile African-Americans having the same love issues as, you know, everybody else.
2017 NBA MVP Talk with Keenan Terry
WSH project curator Larry J. Sanders and Beat the Buzzer co-host Keenan Terry break down this year's MVP race and other assorted odds & ends from this year's NBA season.
The Introduction (WSH Radio Trailer)
In the inaugural episode of WSH Radio, WSH project curator Larry J. Sanders outlines his vision for the podcast going forward.
Homecoming
I always fancied one day owning that house, despite my dad’s disbelief I’d ever want to live there. I also thought I’d have him for at least another 20 years, so consider how my feelings for that place soon changed once he was no longer in it. Had I bought the house from my dad or had he gifted it to me, that would’ve been ideal. But it felt weird knowing that house could exist without him, if that makes sense. I hated walking in that door, I dreaded going into his basement, I’d go into the kitchen and start daydreaming about the fake wrestling matches we’d have, I’d look inside his bedroom and notice one side of the bed hasn’t been touched because, oh yeah, only one person sleeps in that bed now.
Finally Famous: The Essay
I do believe Sean was always cognizant of the lack of respect he’d be given in comparison with his contemporaries, but it’s clear now that he doesn’t care. He beat the odds: he’s made it to his fourth album while a ton of his peers have been one-and-done, if they even get that far.
01.23.2017
Story time.
About three months ago, I considered shuttering the website. In many ways, and for a number of reasons, my confidence was shot. I hadn't written a thing in months, and the whole project was starting to feel like an enormous and expensive waste of time. I’ve never been big on asking God for signs, but that day, I prayed during lunch that God reveal to me whether W S H was still worth the effort.
WSH's Songs + Albums of the Year 2016
Last year’s Highly Scientific Ranking of the Year’s Best Songs featured me and me alone. This time, I’ve asked some writer friends to join the fun. Among these friends are academics and professional writers and folks tied into the industry, but most importantly, they are very good people with musical tastes I’ve always respected. I can’t thank them enough for their help with this article, and I’m grateful that folks – friends or not – want their writing on my little startup website.
12.09.2016
This is all to say, social media ... I don't know what social media is. I'm sitting here trying to articulate it perfectly, and nothing's coming. People can say pretty much whatever they want, and I'm forced to respect that because our country's constitution promises freedom of speech to us all. What I cannot and will not respect, however, are people whose political views are so dangerously incorrect. There is what looks to be a calculated and concerted effort to execute black people happening in front of me, and I'm supposed to care that two rich people don't want to live together any more? You cannot be serious.
Mr. Me Too: Rediscovering Originality in Urban Fashion
I find it very ironic that I write this article in the midst of the "Mannequin Challenge" because, for the past few years, I've been seeing a lot of mannequins. Not mannequins in the sense of folks standing still, but in a fashion sense.
The Curious Case of Usher Raymond
Since releasing Here I Stand, an distinctly mature album for a then-29-year-old, Usher has seemingly chosen to age backwards. Up until Hard II Love, each attempt felt clunky and, even worse, contrived.
Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor, 10 Years Later
Food & Liquor quickly became the soundtrack of my freshman year of high school. I’m terrible at rapping, but I’ve always fancied myself a poet; I love crafting the perfect sentence, and it was clear this not-tough nerd from Chicago loved words just as much – if not more – than this not-tough nerd from the westside of Detroit.
WSH's (Highly Scientific) African-American Literary Canon
The second semester of my senior year, I signed up for African-American Literature from 1940 to the Prresent, and the assigned final project was for each student to develop his or her own African-American literary canon - the works we believed were most indicative of whatever we individually thought a black literary canon set out to achieve. My thesis was that the African-American literary canon details a quest for authenticity and self-honesty in the face of a power structure demanding assimilation and acquiescence.
Over two years later, I stand behind that thesis and the works I selected for my canon, but the internet is the internet, so I expect some disagreements on my picks. If you feel so inclined to let me know you disagree, the comments section is open for your convenience. Enjoy.
Lórenzo's Way-Too-Late 2016 NBA Finals Analysis
I don’t know if these really classify at ‘hot takes.’ I’d consider these more as thoughts I had entering the game and observations made during. I really wanted to write all of these in the immediate aftermath of the game, but I figured giving myself a day or two to sit on them might prove that these thoughts were far more emotional than logical.
A month later, and naw. I believe everything I thought then and that I’ll write now. But, some of you might view these as still very scorching opinions here, and the catchphrase ‘hot take’ seems good for clickbait, but whatever. To begin:
Death of a Dynasty
Oklahoma City had been blessed with THREE generational talents, plus a guy overqualified to be a team's fourth option, and have absolutely nothing to show for it. You need luck to win a title, sure, but that luck seemed to come in the players they'd been gifted. And they blew it.
Eight Years Later
My nephew likely can't remember a time when a black man wasn't running this country. All of my nieces were born in this midst of this presidency. As a kid, I'd always been told I could be whatever I wanted to be – even the president. They've got the last 8 years as proof.
Mr. Trump's America
Cursory acknowledgment somehow meets their -ism threshold. "I occasionally say nice things about these people; therefore, I can't be racist! I can't be sexist! I love gay people! They're the best!" There's a tolerance there, but not an acceptance. To accept would beget a willingness to share. And the closer we inch toward true equity actually bound to law, the angrier the cult seems to get.
Lórenzo and the Frustrating, Annoying, Perplexing, Distressing Detroit Tigers
Year after year after year, the Tigers have gone after the "superstar" deemed necessary to get us over the proverbial hump: Dontrelle Willis, Prince Fielder, David Price. Still no rings to show for it.
Long Live the Chef
I can safely say I watched more Warriors game than Pistons and Thunder games combined this season, cackling at the screen like a madman, in total disbelief of what I'm watching. I expect every three-pointer to drop, every ridiculous floater to somehow amount to two points. And half the time, they do. Must be a wonderful feeling to know you've got a fifty percent chance of success when you play the way he does. It just doesn’t make much sense.
Purple Reign
Once upon a time, my four favorite people on this earth were Michael Jordan, Michael Jackson, my dad, and Whitney Houston, in that order. And just like I thought folks had to choose between 'Pac and Big or Bow Wow and Lil Romeo, I figured I couldn't like both Mike and Prince.